Billy John Byrd was born November 14, 1965 in Water Valley, Ms. to I.V. Byrd and Carolyn Gray Byrd. He loved fishing and hunting and was prolific at what he loved. He went to the Lord on May 29, 2020 in Tupelo. We thank all the many doctors and nurses who took great care of him.

Robert Fava, Jr., 82, was born on April 14, 1938 and went to be with his Lord on Friday, May 18, 2020 at his home in Alligator. He was the Owner and Operator of Mary Ann’s Variety Store and Fava Brothers Grocery in Alligator for over 50 years. Graveside services are 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 20, 2020 at Memorial Gardens Cemetery.

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A higher than normal COVID-19 infection count and easy accessibility to Memphis, Arkansas and the heart of the Mississippi Delta are reasons Coahoma County was chosen as one of the state’s first two mobile testing sites last week.

Twenty-five Coahoma County residents took advantage of the mobile testing site for the coronavirus in the parking lot of the Expo Center throughout the day on Friday, March 27. The Mississippi State Department of Health and the University of Mississippi Medical Center organized the testing.“(Clarksdale) was chosen due to a high number of cases and more accessibility for testing,” said Liz Sharlot, Communication Director for MSDH.

Sharlot would not speculate on why the local case count was higher other than to say the disease is new and the state health department continues to learn more about the disease every day.

Clarksdale is the first major community south of the Memphis Metroplex and does have access to a bridge over the Mississippi River. Clarksdale is the northern gateway to the Mississippi Delta.

Locals who felt they had been exposed to the disease were ushered into tents by medical personnel in full bio-hazard suits. The potential patients were then screened for where they had been, how they felt and medical history. Samples were collected by doctors and vans stood by to carry anyone needing advanced healthcare to local hospitals.

According to Marc Rolph, executive director of communications for UMMC, the results of the tests were not available on Friday. It will take several days to determine whether or not those tested had the coronavirus.

As of Tuesday morning, there were 21 reported COVID-19 cases in Coahoma County and no deaths. There were 937 cases in Mississippi and 20 deaths.

There was also a testing site at Lewisburg High School in Olive Branch on the same day.

Rolph reported 85 Desoto County residents took the coronavirus test on Friday.

“Not only is it a bigger, more densely populated area, but they’ve got a pretty strong number of cases already,” Rolph said.

There are 84 reported COVID-19 cases reported in Desoto County and one death as of Tuesday morning.

Olive Branch is also approximately 30 minutes from Memphis, which is in Shelby County. There were 405 reported cases of the coronavirus in Shelby County as of Tuesday morning.

Testing for the coronavirus in Mississippi is not finished.

“I think there’s some talk about other similar operations happening next week, but I just think it’s too early to disclose any location,” Rolph said.

Vicksburg and Greenwood were the site of mobile testing facilities on Tuesday, a massive testing facility was slated to open in Meridian today and a fourth testing location was scheduled for Natchez on Thursday.

Rolph said while healthcare professionals will handle the sick, he said the public could help by following a few simple rules:

The developer of a proposed public-private economic partnership that would include a grocery store, 50-home subdivision, hotel, convention center, athletic fields and water park being built in Clarksdale unveiled a new proposal Tuesday to recoup investors’ costs.

A public viewing was held Friday, March 15, 2019, at Delta Burial Funeral Home and a funeral service was held Saturday, March 16, 2019, at Thompson Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Lula with pastor Earl Myles presiding.